Free Fall
by Keynn
Summary: Drew's sister, Margo, tries to rekindle the still-present feelings between her brother and his childhood crush and rival, May, seven years after the two lost contact. And everyone learns a little something about themselves and their loved ones in the process. Contestshipping.
1. Chapter 1

**Free Fall**

_Contestshipping_

Drew remembers first meeting May by a cliff edge years ago. This isn't something always on his mind, he is not particularly attached to the memory. But he remembers this fact the same way he remembers running with his sister through the garden behind their estate home in LaRousse when he sees roses, his sister's favorite flower –– his too now, it's funny how association is remarkably intertwined with affection. The cliffs which border the city of his hometown are not big, a short walk up a hill and then a short fall into the ocean. As he sits on the edge he thinks back to that meeting and finds it lacking in the crispness which he could recall it in those first few years, when May was always around, her face fresh in his memory.

"Drew? Mother and father are calling for us…"

Margo is five years Drew's junior. At seventeen she is one of the youngest trainers to hold the title of pokemon champion, and is also one of Drew's most admiring fans.

"I'll be home soon," says Drew, flashing her a grin. "I'm in no great hurry to meet our esteemed guests." Margo laughs and comes to his side, sitting, for a moment they're silent listening to the waves crash.

"You were never much of a fan of it as a kid either." Margo smiles.

"Yeah, well I didn't have to deal with it for very long either," says Drew, "unlike some late bloomers I started my journey at ten." He smirks down at his little sister but she's pouting anyway and has folded her arms over her chest.

"Who's fault is that?" If you'd bothered to write home every once in awhile mother might have been more willing to let me leave sooner."

This breaks the conversation. After a moment Margo speaks again:

"What were you thinking about up here all on your own?" she asks, her brother is staring across the bay to some similar cliffs. There's a figure atop them, arms opened, floating on the upward drafts. It's likely the person will fall into the ocean if they do not time their retreat well enough but Drew's been watching them for about fifteen minutes and the figure has caught itself every time.

"I was thinking about an old friend," Drew says finally. "A girl I met early in my journey."

"Oh!" Grins Margo, who has heard very little of Drew's friends over the years. "Tell me more?" Drew smirks, leaning back. The figure across the way has just stepped back, probably waiting for the next upward air current.

"I haven't seen her in forever nor have I thought about her in awhile. But these cliffs always remind me of her. We met in a similar place."

"Sounds romantic~" says Margo, raising an eyebrow. Drew snorts.

"Hardly, the first time we met I mocked her and many of our subsequent meetings ended in squabbles. We were rivals before we were friends. She was my motivator in many ways. It was always an honor to lose to her."

"What happened to her?" Asks Margo, she has never heard any of this before. Drew shrugs and stands.

"I don't know. We travelled together for a bit in the Johto region, until we were about fifteen, and then we promised to meet in Kanto. But when contest season started she never showed up." Drew reaches down to help Margo up, she dusts off her pants and follows her brother down the hill. It looks as though it will snow tonight as the clouds are rolling in.

"Didn't you ever go looking for her?" Margo asks, dissatisfied with the ending. "You can't tell me you just continued on with contests without even knowing what happened to her!" Drew chuckles, bumps her lightly with his shoulder and shrugs. His hands are in his pockets and he is maybe getting cold. It's hard for Margo to tell. Drew has travelled a great deal and much longer than she has. He's much better with the elements.

"She sent me a few letters over the course of that year. She'd gone on an adventure with a mutual friend, Ash, but she never told me what they had been up to. The letters got fewer and further between. I never got a response to the last couple I sent." Drew saw that Margo seemed unhappy with this. "Sometimes life gets in the way," he says, by way of explanation.

"But you had a crush on her… I was hoping their would be more!" She frowns.

"I never said that!" Drew exclaims.

"You didn't have to!"

"Lets just get home, mother and father will be wandering." Drew sighs. Margo nods, but turns suddenly to the cliff across the way and the figure there.

"I'll meet you there, I'm going to go tell that person snow is on its way. The ocean will be very cold if they fall!" Drew nods and the two separated. Margo jogs across the cove to the other cliff just in time to see the figure, a young woman fall back as the upward draft stops.

"Hey!" She yells up. The young woman turns to her, waving.

"Yes?" She calls.

"It's going to snow," Margo says, "the water will be cold if you fall!" The woman stops and is walking down the hill by the time Margo has stopped talking. She is a pretty woman, maybe in her early twenties. When she is in front of Margo she smiles and laughs a little.

"I was having so much, I almost forgot it was winter!" She says lamely. Her hair is brunette her shoulders are back and she is white as a ghost.

"You're so pale you must be freezing, how could you forget the season?" Margo asks, already convinced this woman is crazy.

"Well … I don't know, I guess I just got caught up in the fun! Thanks for checking on me, though." She smiles, holding out her hand. "My name's May."

"Margo," says Margo, shaking the woman's hand - she looks familiar somehow and Margo says as much. "Do we know each other?" she asks.

"Possibly," May smiles. "Are you a trainer? I'm the gym leader of Petalburg city."

And it hits Margo, May Maple is the leader of the small Petalburg city gym, an infamously tough gym to beat but also an out of the way one. Margo has never personally challenged the Petalburg gym, but she remembers an article on the leader which ran in _The Elite Four, _a magazine dedicated to champion-bound trainers. Margo's face brightens.

"Oh!" She exclaims, "I read an article about you a year or so ago!" May laughs, and blushes.

"There aren't many of those out there," she says.

"I know!" Says Margo, "I don't see Petalburg gym mentioned very often… still, I was very impressed with what I read!" May blushes and the two women stand awkwardly for a moment. "I'm–– I'm actually a trainer," Margo explains, "if you're in town for a bit, I'd love to have a battle?"

"As a leader," May winks, "I'm told I'm not allowed to deny a challenger."

* * *

I was just very much in the writing mood. I haven't written anything in several years. Please understand that, and also that I don't really remember how to write Contestshipping anymore. This story may be a little rough and OOC but I promise it will also be very fun and fluffy. So stick around. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Margo had to run home in order to make it before sunset. She and May had taken a walk to a local hotel, talking happily about Pokemon, battles and contests. May Maple, Margo discovered, was an animated talker and a clumsy walker, which was endearing in its own way, and after promising to have that battle they had discussed earlier Margo left the older woman to her evening. All was well, except that walking and talking took up time Margo didn't exactly have. When she got home Margo flung herself through the front door and almost into Drew, who sidestepped her by the leather of his shoe.

"Margo?" The surprise was evident on his face. Margo grinned sheepishly, regained her footing and proceeded to dash up the stairs.

"Tell mother and father I'll be down in just a moment!" She hollered, already out of her jacket, and hopping to remove her socks. Dinner with guests required more formal attire. Drew was already dressed for the occasion. Margo's hair was disorderly and she was still in her winter weather clothing, so she clearly was not. Drew signed, tossed his hair out of his eyes in exasperation and sauntered into the dining room where their parents and a very regal couple sat. Mister and misses Hayden showed their displeasure clearly on their faces, which was, unfortunately the most familiar expression those faces knew.

"Where is your sister, Andrew?" Mrs. Hayden asked. Her heeled toe tapped the floor lightly with her impatience.

"She'll be here shortly," said Drew.

"She will." Corrected Mr. Hayden, and then turned to his guests. "Mr. Gardener, Mrs. Gardener, this is our son, Andrew." Both guests offered their hands. Drew shook Mr. Gardener's and kissed Mrs. Gardener's, as he'd been taught to do, and then took his seat across from the former.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," said Drew.

"You as well, young man," said the missus. Margo skidded frantically into the room a minute later and gave an unbalanced curtsy.

"…And this is our daughter, Margret," said Mrs. Hayden, giving her daughter a pointed glare.

"I am very sorry." Margo huffed. "I have the most exciting story to explain my absence with, but I believe you both must be very hungry so I will tell you after the food has been served." And then belatedly, as she had almost forgotten she tacked on: "It is very nice to meet you both."

Their father gave them introductions as the food was being served. Mr. and Mrs. Gardener were from Lumiose City, in Hoenn for four weeks on an extended vacation. They had met the elder Haydens during their first visit to Hoenn and were thrilled to make the acquaintance of such accomplished young people. (Pokemon trainers and coordinators were not inherently respectable people, but having achieved so much in their respected fields made up for what lacked in such positions.) Drew and Margo smiled politely and said thank you when appropriate, but remained more or less silent as the four other occupants discussed business happenings and the aristocracy. The Gardeners were wealthy, in part, due to lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden had made their wealth in the fashion industry. In these changing times, money was money no matter the method and so everyone was very happy and Mrs. Gardener was especially excited about the coming fall fashion show in LaRousse. Finally, Mr. Gardener turned to Margo and smiled.

"I believe you had a story you wished to share," he said kindly. Margo was instantly reminded of a friendly grandfather. She grinned.

"Yes," she said. "I had just gone to fetch Drew for dinner, and on our way back I saw a woman playing on the cliff across the cove. Well, actually, Drew and I had seen her atop the cliff as well, but that is neither here nor there…" She stopped to draw the attention of the other listeners before she continued. "Drew returned here to get ready for dinner but as it is expected to snow this evening I wanted to warn the woman of the dangers of playing so near the ocean in such cold weather."

"How kind of you." Interjected Mrs. Gardener. Drew gave Margo a puzzled look but knew when she was excited about a topic she wouldn't simply stop to address his gaze. She was interesting like that, he thought. Margo grinned at him before continuing.

"I caught the woman's attention and she came down from the cliff - very pretty I have to say - and she looked so familiar I had to ask if we had met before." Margo paused, for dramatic effect, Drew assumed. "And then she said to me: 'I'm the gym leader in Petalburg!'" Margo's face was so enthusiastic with delight that Drew hated to burst her bubble, but he did so anyway.

"I hate to break this to you Margo, but the gym leader in Petalburg is a man," said Drew simply. "I've met him before. His name is Norman." Margo grinned at her uninformed brother, who couldn't possibly know anything about gym's and their leaders as he'd spent so much time only in the know of the coordinating groups.

"No," said Margo, affectionately, condescendingly. "Norman _used _to be the gym leader. His daughter, May, took over the gym about six years ago. Last year _The Elite Four _ did a spread on her…" Margo was still talking, but Drew heard ringing in his ears briefly and then he stopped listening all together. _May_ he thought. May Maple. _His_ May Maple … a gym leader. A _gym leader_? The thought was so surprisingly funny that for a moment Drew could think of nothing else. He laughed. Margo, his parents, the Gardeners, everyone stopped to look at him. Drew coughed subtly, adjusted his hair and then turned to his sister.

"I've met May," he said. 'Met' seemed to be an inadequate way to put it, and in fact, it was, but these were particulars Drew would address in a moment. "She's not a gym leader." Margo rolled her eyes.

"If you would just _listen_," she said, "then you would have heard what the article said about May Maple." Margo frowned, but Drew didn't really want to listen.

"May's a coordinator," said Drew, firmly.

"She _used _to be a coordinator." Margo responded. Their guests watched the exchange in bewilderment. "About six years ago she took the leader title from her brother. Norman wanted to continue his journey, he and his wife left the gym to their son, Max Maple." Margo watched Drew's eyes flash with something, but she continued anyway. "The article explained that May had battled Max for the title soon after it was given to him. She's been the leader ever since."

Drew said nothing, only lost in thought and Margo turned back to the table and said, a little wary of her brother's state of mind: "She agreed to have a battle with me early next week. She says she's here to visit an old friend and that she'll be in town for a few weeks."

The discussion continued on around Drew, his parents said something. Margo said something. Mrs. Gardener exclaimed something, gleefully. Mr. Gardener said something to the affirmative. _May's in LaRousse _thought Drew, belatedly.

* * *

_Second chapter? I have a lot to edit on the first chapter. Namely that I switched FREAKING TENSES WHY WAS I WRITING PRESENT TENSE? Also! **Farla** gave me some superb grammar points that I didn't know before, so I'll implement those. (I tried to here, but if I missed anything and you're still reading, let me know - and thank you so much ... I learn more from this site than I ever learned in my English classes...) Anyway, second chapter. Tell me what y'all think. I'll try to post another sometime soonish. 3 _


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